Europe shares firm slightly, ECB holds rates

European stocks were slightly firmer on Thursday as the European Central Bank kept its main interest rate unchanged as expected and news from Bank of America pushed banking stocks higher.

At 1251 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.3 percent at 1,019.07 points.

The European benchmark is up 58 percent from its lifetime low in March after being slashed 45 percent in 2008 by the global economic downturn.

The ECB left its benchmark refinancing rate unchanged at 1.0 percent, in line with a Reuters poll.

"People are now looking for signals about the further ECB policy," said Joerg Rahn, chief investment officer at wealth management company Marcard, Stein & Co.

An ECB press conference at 1330 GMT could begin to sketch out how financial stimulus measures will start to be withdrawn and update economic forecasts for the next two years.

Banks added the most points to the index after Bank of America said it would repay $45 billion of U.S. taxpayer bailout funds. Industry experts said the repayment could be the first in a wave by other U.S. banks, including Citigroup and Wells Fargo & Co.

Banco Santander, Barclays, Lloyds, Societe Generale, UBS and UniCredit rose 1.1 to 4.1 percent.

On the downside, Siemens, the German industrial conglomerate, fell 3.5 percent, after it said operating profit would fall this fiscal year and scrapped its margin target for its industry segment.

Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.1 percent, while France's CAC40 and Germany's DAX were up 0.6 and 0.5 percent, respectively.